A Time for Reflection
December 2020

Months of planning allowed the University to have 13 weeks of on-campus instruction and to provide our students with the residential liberal arts experience that drives our mission. We are a community that cares deeply about each other and came together to complete the residential portion of what was possibly the most unusual and challenging semester in the history of the University. These months have been taxing in so many ways, and I am proud of the members of our campus community for the exceptional care and support they have shown one another.
 
Despite the atypical semester, we have continued to improve and advance our institution. We received a wide variety of recognitions from national publications and agencies. Our national-niche programs are flourishing, including the Batten Honors College, focus on the Greer Environmental Sciences Center, and the Robert Nusbaum Center. We added new programs: a joint Bachelor of Science in Nursing with Sentara College of Health Sciences and a Bachelor of Musical Arts. We completed a variety of construction projects, including Coastal 61 at Oxford Village, Boyd Dining Center, and TowneBank Arena. We continued construction plans for Susan T. Beverly Hall, DeFord Manor, and Brock Commons - all to be completed in 2021. We held on to traditions like Founders Day, Homecoming and Family Weekend, and Wesleyan Wednesday by offering these events in a virtual format.

Our successes could not have been possible without the outstanding leadership of our Emergency Response Team and the cooperation of our students. Our faculty remained committed to providing high-quality instruction to our students within shifting parameters due to the pandemic. Our staff in Student Activities, Residence Life, the Counseling Center, and throughout campus showed tremendous creativity and care to support students and auxiliary activities during this challenging time. Our partners at Sodexo, Aramark and Sentara have been instrumental in our ability to provide a safe learning environment. So many people worked tirelessly to give our students an amazing, if somewhat unorthodox, experience, and I cannot thank the Marlin family enough for making the most of our fall semester.